The present invention relates generally to anti-G suits, and more particulary to anti-G suit improvements increasing the body surface area compressed by the anti-G suit.
Operation of high performance aircraft exposes an aircrew member to a high acceleration environment that pools blood into the lower body. As a result, blood flow to the retina and brain is diminished and the crew member may experience loss of vision and finally loss of consciousness. To protect against the harmful effects of high acceleration the aircrew member wears an anti-G suit comprising a cutaway pair of trousers with five sewn pockets containing inflatable air bladders. One bladder covers the front of the abdomen, and one each covers the portion of each leg in front of each thigh and each calf. The anti-G suit is connected to an anti-G valve that opens when the aircraft is exposed to +Gz accerleration, allowing pressurized air to inflate the anti-G suit bladders. The inflated bladders compress adjacent portions of the aircrew member's lower body, causing increased blood return to the heart and diminished blood flow to the lower body.
Despite the higher performance capabilities of modern aircraft, greatly increasing the acceleration risks to aircrew members, anti-G suits have remained largely unchanged since World War II. The prior art, while recognizing that increasing the body surface area compressed by an anti-G suit will increase protection, has failed to provide any satisfactory means of achieving this result. It has failed to provide solutions to problems inherent in current anti-G suits. For example, ballooning occurs when the bladders in a normal anti-G suit inflate and expand in directions away from the aircrew member's body, reducing the surface area and the total force exerted against the aircrew member's body. And, the prior art has also failed to provide satisfactory new elements for anti-G suits to increase compressed body surface area. For example, compressing the highly vascular buttocks will increase resistance to harmful G effects, but the prior art has accomplished this through the use of inflatable air bladders that surround the buttocks, having the disconcerting effect when inflated of lifting the aircrew member off the seat.
It is thus seen that there is a need for anti-G suit improvements that solve prior anti-G suit deficiencies in compressing body surface area; and, that add additional elements to increase compressed body surface area without the prior art disadvantages.
It is, therefore, a principle object of the present invention to increase the protection against harmful G effects provided by current anti-G suits by increasing the body surface area compressed by the anti-G suit.
Another object of this invention is to provide an anti-G suit that prevents ballooning of the air bladders when inflated.
Yet another object of this invention is to increase the effective body surface area compressed by the air bladders when inflated.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an anti-G suit that compresses the buttocks without lifting the wearer in the seat.
A feature of this invention is that it increases the rate of pressure rise when inflating the bladders.
An advantage of this invention is that it is more comfortable than prior art anti-G suits.
A further advantage of this invention is that it aids the wearer in performing straining and other routine maneuvers to counteract the harmful effects of high G's.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the detailed description of certain representative embodiments proceeds.